Kitsunebi 狐火 || Kemono Jihen

Prologue

Prologue
Kabane

❃

"Oh, give me a break, man, " Inugami sighs. "I can't afford a flat tire out here."

"You should have brought a spare tyre like I told you to, " You huff remembering back to the morning before you left Toyko. Suddenly, you hear a car honk. You two look to the side and see a pickup truck. "Are you two from Tokyo?" The lady driving the vehicle asks.

"Are you the client?"

"I'm the hostess of Kanoko Villa, " the lady answers. "I'll send someone to fix this later. Would you come with me now? We can speak in the car."

With no other choice, you both agree. Inugami gets on the front seat next to the lady and you climb on the back. The front of the truck was too small to fit three people in it so you had to sit there. You weren't complaining though, after the long ride from Tokyo, you needed the fresh air right now.

You try to cover your face from the bright sun rays. Unlike Tokyo, you were surrounded by nature here. Lots of cabbage fields. The sound of cicadas rang loud in your ears and the tall trees swayed with the wind. Everything seemed normal and peaceful, except for the lingering smell of corpses in the air.

It didn't take long to reach the inn. You jumped off the back and the lady lead you and Inugami inside towards the backyard to relax with some green tea and snacks. Inugami's car was brought back by that time.

"Well thank you, " Inugami says. "I hate having to leave changing my tire up to you, and if you'll bill me for everything you need later..."

"Very well." The innkeeper pours more warm water into the small kettle while you take another piece of the mochi. You even notice a few kids staring at you from the corners. They quickly flee as Inugami takes notice of them. He chuckles. "I like it out here. It's nice and relaxed. I saw a number of wild deers on the way in."

"They're the local speciality of our village," the lady responds. "We even keep a headcount, to make sure there's no harm done to them."

"Oh, yeah?" Then something or rather someone catches Inugami's attention.

"Hello there! Excuse us for dropping by!" Inugami calls out. You turn towards the direction he's shouting at and saw a young boy ploughing the cabbage fields. He looked younger than you and rather skinny for his age. He had messy black hair and he was covered in dirt.

The boy responded by giving a bow and continued to plough the fields. "Wow, quite the hard worker..." Inugami simply comments. "Or maybe he's just shy around strangers. He doesn't look like he's just home from school. Does he stay home from school to work?"

"...I'll fill you in later, " the lady said.

The sun set after a few hours and the innkeeper suggested the hot springs at the back of the inn for you two to use. Of course, you agreed cuz why not?

You were already outside sitting next to the hot spring with only a towel wrapped around your waist. You were checking the temperature of the water when, without warning, Inugami jumped into the hot spring, making the water splash everywhere and on you as well.

...Your boss was a real child sometimes.

Slowly you followed after into the water. "Coming to a hot spring on business is the best," Inugami exclaims.